29.06.2021

Regionality

from breeding all the way to the registered variety

REGIONAL – an attribute which has increasingly been used in a variety of contexts in recent months and years. In plant breeding, it is really crucial to adapt breeding and variety selection to the needs and specific characteristics of a region.

This is essential for optimum yields. And this is what we do at the maize breeding station in Schönering near Linz in Upper Austria. In the course of the last 10 years, we have produced 100 varieties for the European market and selected close to 50 varieties for Austrian farmers. In addition to the fact that these varieties are adapted to the growing region, Austrian breeds create great value in Austrian agriculture and related sectors.

Breeders and farmers

a productive partnership

Our maize breeding programme sees itself as a regional partner for farmers in the region. We cooperate with about 40 farmers in seed production for breeding lines and seed trials. On more than 120 hectares in the Upper Austrian districts Linz-Land and Eferding, we produce the lines, which are the basis for our maize hybrids as well as high-quality seeds for trials. What’s more, we work with about 20 farmers from all over Austria in extensive trials in order to thoroughly check and examine our candidate varieties and to make the best ones available for our domestic agriculture.

Value creation through domestic breeding

The advantages for Austrian agriculture are not reserved for the districts of the Upper Austrian central area. Thanks to the success of our varieties in Austria and abroad, SAATBAU LINZ maize varieties have been multiplied for export on almost 1,500 hectares in Austria. This responsible activity has become a significant source of income for many owners of our cooperative. Also, numerous companies connected to agriculture benefit from domestic breeding and multiplication. This is particularly true for companies in the field of agricultural engineering, which benefits when tractors, machines or equipment for field management are bought or when it comes to special machinery for sowing and yielding on trial plots or pilot multiplication projects and goes all the way to trade with agricultural products and the domestic construction sector.

Last but not least, the maize breeding programme of SAATBAU LINZ directly and indirectly functions as an employer for numerous employees, who are very committed to research, breeding, multiplication, production, quality assurance and selling of our maize varieties, thereby guaranteeing that the best varieties are available for each region and each type of use. Regionality, from breeding to variety registration, is one of the core missions of SAATBAU LINZ.

Lukas NADERER
Breeding Assistant Maize
SAATBAU LINZ